Trump asks court to toss classified docs charges, citing flaws

Trump’s attorneys contend that the former president’s removal of documents from the White House is shielded by immunity

Attorneys representing Donald Trump have requested a federal court to drop charges alleging that he unlawfully took classified documents from the White House upon leaving his position, contending that he is shielded by presidential immunity. 

This legal matter pertains to Trump relocating documents to his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and impeding efforts by investigators to retrieve them, constituting one of four criminal accusations he is confronting while campaigning for a second presidential tenure. 

Trump has entered a not guilty plea to the 40 charges brought against him in Florida by special counsel Jack Smith. 

In a 20-page filing, Trump’s legal team asserted on Thursday that the act of removing the documents from the White House was an official action. 

“While still in office, President Trump made this choice. The purported decision was an official action and, therefore, falls under presidential immunity,” the filing contends. 

Trump has employed the same rationale in response to a federal indictment accusing him of plotting to retain power following his defeat in the 2020 election to Joe Biden, leading to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a group of his supporters. 

Recently, a federal appeals court deemed his immunity argument as not supported by the U.S. Constitution. Subsequently, Trump has appealed to the Supreme Court to halt the ruling. 

The issue of whether a former U.S. president is shielded from prosecution is uncharted territory in American legal practice, as no former president had previously faced criminal charges until Trump. 

Source: AFP